It is known to produce linear optical waveguides, integrated in optoelectronic chips and capable of confining and guiding light.
It is also known to produce photonic interconnection switches integrated in optoelectronic chips, making it possible to transfer photons from one optical waveguide to another optical waveguide via a redirect ring resonator, controllable by an electrical signal.
Generally, the resonator comprises an integrated ring and an integrated electronic component adjacent to this ring and controllable by an electrical signal, the integrated ring having portions adjacent to the optical waveguides so as to form areas of optical coupling between the ring and the optical waveguides.
In the absence of an electrical signal, the integrated ring is in a “non-resonant” state such that a light wave, brought to a coupling area by an optical waveguide, passes through this coupling area and continues its path in this optical waveguide.
On the other hand, in the presence of an electrical signal, the integrated electronic component changes the state of the integrated ring which is then placed in a “resonant” state such that a light wave that reaches a coupling area via one of the optical waveguides is transferred to the integrated ring then transferred to the other optical waveguide via the other coupling area, the light wave continuing its path in the other optical waveguide in an opposite direction.
Commonly, the structures described above are produced on silicon and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates.
Furthermore, H. Shabani “Loss aware switch design and non blocking detection algorithm for intra-chip scale photonic interconnection networks”, IEEE Transactions on Computers (Volume: 65, Issue: 6, June, 2016) provides complex photonic interconnection networks integrated in optoelectronic chips, which comprise a plurality of optical waveguides and a plurality of switches, as described above, and which include intersections between the optical waveguides, with a view to selectively transferring data and data packets between sources and recipients, by selectively controlling the resonators.
The photonic interconnection networks described above are limited by the losses and crosstalk that degrade the transmitted signals when the optical waves pass through intersections or resonators. They should therefore be kept to the minimum.